Three years later

“There you are,” Gideon said as he tucked the bandage around the boy’s leg and helped him down.

Leo was strong, and he didn’t flinch, despite his young age of seven years old.

His mother beamed at him, then held out a basket of eggs to Gideon.

“I know that you must have your own eggs here, but that’s all I could bring today. I’ll try to pay you something as soon as I can.” Her brown eyes showed gratitude.

“Nonsense.” Gideon took the basket of eggs. “This is more than enough. You know that my wife and I accept whatever payment people can give. We are here to help.” He reached down with his free hand and tousled Leo’s hair. “You be good for your mama, all right?”

Leo nodded, a big grin with a missing tooth stretching across his face. Gideon watched the boy and his mother leave, a smile of his own on his face.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Over the last three years, he and Mary had built up Beatrice’s ranch into a medical center and a very successful horse ranch. They helped more people than he’d ever imagined possible, especially with how fast Silver Creek was growing.

“Papa!” A little voice called through the office from the main house.

He chuckled as his daughter, two-and-a-half-year-old Beatrice, came skidding around the corner. She barely stopped herself before tumbling into him.

“Papa, time to eat!” Beatrice reached up, opening and closing her round little fists.

“All right then, I’m starving.” Gideon scooped Beatrice up, tossing her in the air, then catching her, eliciting a burst of squeals. He held her close as he made his way down the short hallway that connected to the main cabin, where he lived with Mary and Lila. They’d officially moved in two years ago, and little by little, it had become home.

Mary was in the kitchen, serving bowls of thick stew. Chunks of beef gave off a delicious aroma, nestled with carrots, potatoes, and peas from the garden. Her cheeks blushed a light pink when she spotted him. Even though they’d been together for years, she still looked flustered when he appeared, in the best way.

“There you are,” she said, tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear. “Have you seen Lila? Shouldn’t she be back from school by now?”

“No, I haven’t. She’s probably gotten distracted picking flowers or something.” Just as he finished speaking, the front door burst open. Two seconds later, Lila rushed into the kitchen. Her green dress was muddy at the hems, and she clutched a bouquet of yellow, white, and red wildflowers.

“Lila! You’re getting the floors all muddy,” Mary protested as Lila rushed over to her and kissed her cheek.

“It’s okay, I’ll help you clean it up, Aunt Mary.” She handed the bouquet to Mary. “Aren’t they pretty?”

Gideon watched on, his heart swelling with pride and happiness. He’d wondered if his niece would ever speak again; now he couldn’t imagine a day without her constant chatter.

“They are beautiful.” Mary reached out and rubbed a smudge of dirt off of Lila’s cheek. “As are you, but it’s time to eat, so let’s get cleaned up and settle down, all right?”

“Yes.” Lila nodded and hurried over to the counter, where she made swift work of getting a jar, filling it with water, and putting the flowers in it. She was the last to sit. As soon as she did, Gideon bowed his head to say grace.

“Dear Lord, you’ve given us so much. This ranch, each other, our children…” He smiled as he said it, thinking of Mary’s growing stomach. “We couldn’t ask for more, Lord, and yet, every day you give us more. We ask for your guidance and protection as we continue forward in your ways. Bless this food to our bodies and bless the hands that made it. Amen.”

“Amen,” everyone chorused around the table, even Beatrice.

“How is Margaret?” Mary asked Lila.

“She’s good. She says that I’m the best helper she’s ever had, and that I am a very good teacher with the little children. She says I could be a teacher for a schoolhouse of my own if I work hard for the next few years.”

Gideon almost choked on his coffee. Lila was only eleven years old. Yes, she was smart and industrious for her age, but he was nowhere near ready to think of a life where she wasn’t living with him and Mary.

“That is a while off, but she is right.” Mary reached over and patted Lila’s hand. “You could be a teacher.”

“Oh! Sheriff Ford was waiting for her after class. She rode off with him, and she was smiling so big. I know that they’re going to go steady soon. The way she was giggling…”

“All right, Lila. Let’s let Miss Margaret have her peace and privacy.” Gideon jumped in. He knew that Sheriff Ford had had an interest in Margaret and had been showing it the past few months. Neither of them had announced it yet, though.

Mary giggled, and the sound nearly stopped Gideon’s heart. He meant every word he’d said in his prayer. He considered himself the luckiest man in the West. With his niece as the oldest daughter, his daughter, and now a second baby, je had the family he’d longed for. He had everything he’d thought he didn’t need. If nothing had changed until the day he died, he’d die a happy man.

***

Mary’s eyes filled with tears as she watched Lila at the front of the church, speaking with clear words.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose, Romans 8:28.” Lila beamed as she finished her presentation.

She’d become Margaret’s right-hand helper in the schoolhouse, which was rapidly growing with the town. She was also Mrs. Dawson’s favorite helper with the children’s Sunday church program. Lila was growing into a wonderful young woman, and Mary couldn’t have been prouder if she’d been Lila’s mother. She felt like Lila’s mother in so many ways.

Mary glanced over at Ada, who was sitting with Nathaniel Smith, her husband of two months. They’d fallen in love the year before and had eyes only for each other. Mary saw her sister in town most days, and the happiness was always there.

Clara was sitting beside her, leaning in. “She read that beautifully,” Clara whispered.

“Yes. She did.” Mary wiped away a tear of happiness as Gideon, on her right, squeezed her hand. It was one of the rare Sundays he’d been able to stay for the full service. Beatrice was balanced on his knee, bouncing up and down.

Once, Mary had felt so alone in her own family, but there in the little chapel, she felt as if she were surrounded by love. Her sisters lived within walking distance, she had a husband, a baby, a daughter, and a new baby on the way.

Pastor Dawson closed the service with a prayer.

After the service, Margaret hurried over to Mary and Clara as soon as everyone started getting up to leave.

“Margaret,” Mary kept her voice down, pulling Margaret and Clara along with her. “Is it true what I hear…that you and Sheriff Ford are getting closer?”

Margaret blushed, confirming the rumors before saying anything.

“How did you know?” she asked with a little gasp.

“Lila told me.” Mary giggled. “She certainly is astute and notices everything.”

“That she is.” Margaret shook her head.

“So, tell us, when is the wedding?” Clara prompted.

“My goodness, rumors do fly.” Margaret’s cheeks grew a shade darker. “It’s in three months, and of course, you are all invited. I think we’ve known for a long while that there was something between us.”

Mary pulled her friend in for a hug. She’d known for a long time, too, but knew it would work itself out in its own time, in God’s time, and it had.

***

Later, Mary sat on a quilt under the huge tree that stretched its branches over the grass near the river. It was like a mother hen shading her chicks. Beside her were Clara and Ada. Margaret would join them later. They’d decided to go to the river for a picnic after church, and it gave Mary the much-needed time to catch up with her sisters.

As they settled in, Clara looked between her sisters and asked, “Did you hear from Ma last week?”

“Yes,” they said in unison.

Their mother’s letters were a constant.

Clara sighed. “I do wish she’d come visit or convince Pa to come along with her. It’s been so long since…everything happened. I think it’s time we put it to rest.”

“As do I.” Mary didn’t hold anything against her family for what happened. In a way, she believed that what they’d tried to force her to do had brought her to the man whom God intended as her husband.

“Speaking of what happened…” Ada leaned in. “Did you hear that Jasper had to leave town? Apparently, after he got out of jail, no one would speak to him or hire him. His father’s money couldn’t even clean up the mess he made this time. My friend sent me a letter and says he had to become a clerk at a mercantile in two towns over.”

Margaret smiled at the thought. She’d also forgiven Jasper, but the idea of him working as a clerk made her want to laugh regardless.

“Some people just don’t learn from jail, and others know that. It will take him a long time before his reputation recovers, if it ever does,” Clara said softly.

Mary knew her sister wasn’t just speaking of Jasper. Their father had never fully recovered his reputation after his short few months in jail. He was still trying to volunteer and spend more time giving back to the community to make up for helping a man who tried to force his own daughter to marry. He had softened over the years and had even sent a few letters, but still refused to visit. Mary hoped that one day, if God kept working in his heart, their relationship would heal.

Those days, when she’d almost lost Gideon and Lila to Jasper and her father’s pride, and to Mr. Lawson’s greed, seemed so far away now. No one had seen Mr. Lawson since. He had apparently been too embarrassed to come back if he was a free man, after everything.

“No matter what happens with Mama or Papa, I’m glad that the three of us are together.” Mary reached out and took her sister’s hands. “I know I don’t say this enough, but I love you both. When I first ran away from home, part of what gave me the strength to do it was you two. I wanted you to know you could choose love, that you could choose a happy family, a Godly family, that had everything you wanted.”

Ada and Clara leaned in, and the three of them hugged each other close. When they pulled back, Mary could see her sisters’ eyes were as misty as her own. Her gaze traveled over to Gideon. He was playing ball with Lila, Beatrice, and Ada’s husband, Nathaniel. Nathaniel’s three younger siblings had come, making it a small crowd. She looked up to see Sheriff Ford and Margaret riding up to join them.

She’d found happiness, and peace, she’d found freedom. There was so much to be had, and God had blessed her with it all. She knew that one day, he would also bring her parents back to her, and they would all discover God’s perfect plan and love together. Gideon looked over at her and blew her a kiss with a soft gaze. She pretended to catch it, holding his gaze. She loved him, and she knew that their love was forever, no matter what they had to face together in life, because they’d already faced the biggest of obstacles and had overcome them.